BuddyTV was co-founded in 2005 by Andy Liu and
David Niu. The pair graduated from the
University of Pennsylvania with a
Master of Business Administration. They sold their previous company, NetConversions, to
aQuantive in 2004. While on a holiday, they realized that television is a "very passive or non-social experience", and wanted to "express ourselves at the time of the show". In May 2007, BuddyTV received a loan of $250,000 from the
Charles River Quick Start Seed Funding Program, In a first round financing,
Gemstar-TV Guide International invested $2.8 million into the website. In September 2007,
paidContent reported that BuddyTV was being acquired by
Comcast, at which time it was receiving 3 million unique visitors per month and had hired 20 employees. However, the reports were later confirmed to be untrue. BuddyTV has been compared to the television commentary site
Television Without Pity. Television Without Pity's co-editor
Sarah Bunting said that the website's focus is on in-depth and humorous recaps that appear three or four days after the episodes air. BuddyTV is designed, however, to provide immediate feedback. "We're making a big bet on the mobile and tablet side of things," said CEO Andy Liu. "When I watch TV, I've got my iPad open, I've got mobile phones nearby as well, and I think in the next 12 to 18 months this whole movement towards being a lot more social in television is really going to come together, and we just want to get ahead of that. It's amazing how much hardware has changed this space." A year later, the app was featured in
TechCrunch. On 31 December 2014, Smart TV manufacturer
Vizio acquired BuddyTV's parent Advanced Media Research Group, Inc. Three and a half years later on 22 May 2018, the website went offline. The site has since relaunched under new management. ==Business model==